Andrew Tyldsley, who was Commercial Manager during a 30-year-plus stint with Go North East, has died.
Mr Tyldsley was a lifelong bus enthusiast whose career in the industry lasted more than 45 years.
He was still Membership Director of the Omnibus Society, which he joined in 1976, and he held the same role with the North East Bus Preservation Trust.
After studying Transport Planning and Business, Mr Tyldsley joined Lancashire United Transport in 1975 as a bus conductor, before becoming a driver and then a scheduler.
Following three years with Shearings, he joined OK Motor Services in Bishop Auckland as a Traffic Manager in 1989.
When OK Travel was purchased by Go-Ahead in 1995, he became Commercial Manager for Go North East.
He retired in 2019 but rejoined the operator as Interim Head of Commercial from January 2023 to July 2024.
He had held various officer roles with the Omnibus Society since 1997 and was also Vice Chair of its Northern branch at the time of his death.
Since his retirement, his interest in buses was further maintained as a volunteer for Beamish – the Living Museum of the North, where he drove North East Bus Preservation Trust’s Guy Arab III/Roe double-decker.
Nigel Featham, Managing Director at Go North East since 2022, says: “We have lost a legend and a friend. Andrew Tyldsley – ‘Mr T’, as he was known to us – was for decades exceptional at what he did behind the scenes for Go North East. He was deeply passionate and supremely knowledgeable.
“But, more important than any of that, he was a brilliant, kind and generous man. He spent countless hours developing others, encouraging me when I was on the right track and never leaving me in doubt when I wasn’t.
“I learned a great deal from him and trusted him completely. The bus industry, Go-Ahead, and Go North East owe him a huge debt of gratitude – and so do I. Thank you for everything, Mr T. You will be greatly missed.”
